We are all very familiar with the Biblical verse “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23a (NIV).
Have we really stopped to ponder beyond that verse? I know I had not. A few weeks ago I posted the list on my mirror, making it a point to read it every morning, afternoon and evening. I did not take the next step in understanding until my heart was afflicted. I have seen cruelty among Christians before, but recently it has begun to really shake me to the core. It reverberates in me; I have been unable to look past others harsh judgments and careless words to and about others.
That’s when I decided to commit this to devotion. Fruits of the Spirit are more than just a list of words. It’s not a job description where you try to best mirror them in hopes that you become a candidate to get the job. Galatians says a little bit more about the Fruits of the Spirit; certainly more than I took time to understand.
“Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Galatians 5:23b-26(NIV)
Stop and really consider what this is saying. There is no law against not having the Fruits of the Spirit BUT for those of us who truly belong to Christ, consumed by Him, will strive to live in the Spirit of those Fruits. We will have a desire to reflect those fruits in our lives, in our hearts and reflect them in our words and actions. Not to be righteous in the world, but to glorify God by allowing the Holy Spirit to move us in and through them (fruits of the spirit).
Now let me step off my soapbox for just a moment, because I certainly have had pie on my face in the past and will likely take one in the kisser in the future. I am so far from being Christ like, so far from being sin free, that I will never completely be in line with the Fruits of the Spirit. Here is that BUT again…but I have a heart, desire and passion to do so. I may not make the right word choices, I may jump to judgment where it is not my place to do so…but if I am truly open to Christ and He resides in my heart…it won’t be long before I understand I was wrong. That’s where we pick it back up. A misstep does not have to be a knockout punch, not if we are willing to make the wrong right.
We simply use the Fruits of the Spirit to make the correction. That does not mean forgiveness comes by way of your delivery. We all know that forgiveness is a process, some of us get there and some of us fight to hold on to the hurt. The fruits of the spirit may, in this case be the first step in healing for both you and the hurt party. A band-aid to allow the wound to heal, instead of an open wound left to fester.
Stay with me because I have also had another reflection on the Fruits of the Spirit. We all have a God given talent. Something we do really well, that glorifies His kingdom. I think these gifts stem from the Fruits of the Spirit. Not all parts, just one’s that we seem to really encompass or understand well. One’s we practice daily. For me Joy, Patience and Self-Control drive my ministry. I have had to exercise patience in waiting for the Lord to speak to my heart, have had to learn self control to speak only when I should, and to speak kind words and find joy in the process.
Many of us have or have had jobs that we have felt stuck in. Our fruits seem insignificant in what we are doing. We don’t seem to ever see them go from blossom to fruit. However if your obedient, even in the toughest situations, they bloom, just in places that are not always visible.
In closing, I wrote this because I have seen too much in the way of unkindness lately. Judgment where it is not our place, harsh words to wounded hearts. This breaks mine. The people who fell victim were already broken in spirit, imagine if fruit was offered up instead of sour grapes. We will reach more for Christ if we share the fruits instead of storing them up for our own self gain or holding them back because of concern that they might reflect we support the sin in their lives. It is so not about that. If we are going to reach others, we need to see past the sin and love the sinner. Take off our rose colored glasses so we might see the sin in our own lives and we should not be so quick to judge. Sin is not in levels or degrees, they are equal in punishment. Death is the ultimate sentence and we will all serve our time for it. Christ came for the afflicted not the perfect. He died so we might go beyond our sentence of death. Fruits of the Spirit are a stepping stone to drawing nearer to the Savior. Extending this kindness makes an impact and gives others hope. An extension of the Fruits is an extension of sharing Christ.